11/27 Noble fir, #GivingTuesday, Insight, BC pipe, insects, super-bacteria, indigenous consultation, king tides, sea lion kills

Noble fir

Noble fir Abies procera
Abies procera, the noble fir, also called red fir and Christmastree, is a western North American fir, native to the Cascade Range and Coast Range mountains of extreme northwest California and western Oregon and Washington in the United States. It is a high-altitude tree, typically occurring at 300–1,500 m (980–4,920 ft) altitude, only rarely reaching the tree line. (Wikipedia)

Today is Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday, often stylized as #GivingTuesday for purposes of hashtag activism, refers to the Tuesday after U.S. Thanksgiving in the United States. It is a movement to create an international day of charitable giving at the beginning of the Christmas and holiday season. (Wikipedia)

NASA’s InSight Mission Has Touched Down on Mars to Study the Red Planet’s Deep Secrets 
The InSight lander, NASA’s latest foray to the red planet, has landed. Cheers erupted on Monday at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., which operates the spacecraft, when InSight sent back acknowledgment of its safe arrival on Mars. That was the end of a journey of more than six months and 300 million miles. As InSight descended and each milestone of the landing process was called out, “the hairs on the back of my neck would start rising a little bit higher, a little bit higher,” Tom Hoffman, the project manager for the mission, said at a news conference after the landing. “And then when we finally got the confirmation of touchdown, it was completely amazing. The whole room went crazy. My inner four-year-old came out.” Kenneth Chang reports. (NY Times)

Trans Mountain pipeline: BC chief says his people responsible for land
Protection of salmon, animals and the land in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia is an eternal responsibility of First Nations and the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline poses risks that could harm the homes and culture of Aboriginal Peoples, the National Energy Board heard Monday. But Chief Tyrone McNeil of the Sto:lo Tribal Council and councillor Andrew Victor of the Cheam First Nation did not say they are completely opposed to the expansion project as the board began hearings in Victoria. Victor said the Sto:lo, which includes the Cheam First Nation, want to see grounds for the pipeline expansion project, including the completion of environmental assessments that examine the risks and impacts of a spill. The council also wants to be part of ongoing consultations and environmental assessments, he added. Dirk Meissner reports. (Canadian Press)

The Insect Apocalypse Is Here. What does it mean for the rest of life on Earth?
Sune Boye Riis was on a bike ride with his youngest son, enjoying the sun slanting over the fields and woodlands near their home north of Copenhagen, when it suddenly occurred to him that something about the experience was amiss. Specifically, something was missing. It was summer. He was out in the country, moving fast. But strangely, he wasn’t eating any bugs. Brooke Jarvis reports. (NY Times)

Super-bacteria showing up in Puget Sound wildlife – from orcas to otters
A leafy little tunnel runs through the undergrowth along the Black River in the Seattle suburb of Renton: an otter trail. It’s in hidey-holes like this that river otters leave detailed evidence of human misdeeds. Just downstream, in the Duwamish River, droppings left by river otters reveal toxic PCBs and other industrial waste. Here, in a woodsy city park where the Black River carries runoff from nearby subdivisions and business parks, otter droppings contain our antibiotics and the super-bacteria that they can generate. Bacteria that resist antibiotic drugs are becoming more widespread in our environment. John Ryan reports. (KUOW)

Victoria has to move beyond ‘duty to consult’ on indigenous issues
Lasting reconciliation in B.C. requires the provincial government to move beyond its current minimal “duty to consult” with Indigenous nations, according to a report being released Tuesday. The province should adopt a new approach that would lead to “obtaining free, prior and informed consent” from First Nations in anything to do with their title and rights, the report states. The report, released by the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, stresses the importance of implementing the 2007 United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, a groundbreaking international agreement that establishes minimum standards for the survival of Indigenous people, such as individual and collective rights and the right to self-determination. The government of B.C. has said it is committed to adopting and implementing the declaration. Kevin Griffin reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Extreme high tides in Seattle this week
Every morning this week, Seattle will experience especially high tides. They’re called "king tides." They happen once or twice a year, when the moon comes closest to the earth. Scientists say king tides help us identify places vulnerable to rising sea levels, so we went to talk to people who live and work close to the water. Joshua Menashe grew up in a house right on Puget Sound in West Seattle. He’s back there helping his parents put up Christmas lights now. He remembers one time, a really high tide washed some sea lions into their backyard. “Right over here to the left – sitting right by the firepit!" he said. "They started barking and then hopped back into the water and were gone.” Monday’s king tide one was only twelve and a half feet. Joshua McNichols reports. (KUOW)

After six sea lions found shot, another seven found with ‘acute trauma’
Since September, six sea lions have died from gunshot wounds in central Puget Sound and Kitsap County. The Seattle Times reports that another seven are suspected to have died from "acute trauma" caused by humans, including a decomposed sea lion with its head sliced off found washed ashore Tuesday in a West Seattle cove. That's according to Seal Sitters Marine Mammal Stranding Network, a group that responds to reports of stranded or dead sea lions. Michael Milstein, a NOAA Fisheries spokesman, has confirmed the deaths of five California sea lions in West Seattle, including four that died of gunshot wounds. NOAA Fisheries law-enforcement agents are investigating these crimes, which are prohibited under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. (Associated Press)


Now, your tug weather--



West Entrance U.S. Waters Strait Of Juan De Fuca-  254 AM PST Tue Nov 27 2018   

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR HAZARDOUS SEAS IN EFFECT THROUGH  WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON 

TODAY  S wind 5 to 15 kt. Wind waves 1 to 2 ft. W swell 14 ft  at 15 seconds. Showers likely. 

TONIGHT  SE wind 5 to 15 kt becoming SW after midnight. Wind  waves 1 to 2 ft. W swell 14 ft at 17 seconds. Showers likely.


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